The long hair, scarce and black, present on the back (especially in the withers zone), is quite evident so much to gain the species the name of “Maned wolf”. The maned wolf has a morbid and fluctuating coat with rather long hairs, of reddish-yellowish-brown colour, more gilded on both sides, with black portions localized at the legs (medium-distal portions), the chin, in a pointed dark spot present at the base of the neck (under the white chinstrap) and in a central line of the back. It has an average length of about 100-125 cm, a height at the withers of 85-107 cm and a weight of 18-34 kg. It has a tall, angular, slender shape, and it seems, due to the long legs (it’s the tallest wild canid), and to the gat, as if being on stilts. In Paraguay, it lives also at the margins of the forests and close to swamps and rivers.Īrchaic species, it comes from wolves ancestor extinct in Pleistocene © Giuseppe Mazza Its typical habitat is that of the open savannas and of the prairies, even if partially covered with bushes and scattered trees. It is diffused in central and south-eastern Brazil, and occupies part of Paraguay, of eastern Bolivia and of northern Argentina. The maned wolf is the biggest South American canid. The name of the species “brachyurus” comes from the Greek “βραχύς (brachys)” = short and “οὐρά (ura)” = tail, referring to the tail, not long, of this animal. The name of the genus “Chrysocyon” comes from the Greek “χρυσός (crysos)” = gold and “κύων (kyon)” = dog and means literally “golden dog”. It belongs, as only species, to the genus Chrysocyon (Smith-1839), and to the species Chrysocyon brachyurus. The Maned wolf, also known as Skunk wolf ( Chrysocyon brachyurusIlliger 1817) is a strange lanky canid belonging to the order of the Carnivores ( Carnivora) and to the family of the Canids ( Canidae). In some ways Chrysocyon brachyurus resembles a fox, but is the tallest canid © Giuseppe Mazza
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